Soco International, an independent oil and gas company with assets in Africa and South East Asia, will start production from the H5 block in the Te Giac Trang field offshore Vietnam, ahead of its previously announced September/October plan.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Soco said the Hoang Long Joint Operating Co.-operated H5 development project was well ahead of the original schedule with topsides having been installed on July 15 and first oil expected before mid-August.

Ed Story, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The main focus for 2015 has been the delivery of the H5 development with first oil now expected imminently, well ahead of the original September/October target. We continue to engage with our partners to optimize the current performance of TGT and to progress towards the further development of the field and are hopeful the start-up of H5 will serve as a catalyst to facilitate these efforts.”

TGT field production averaged 33.6 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (“KBOEPD”) for 1H 2015, 10.1 KBOEPD net to SOCO. Production was slightly below the Soco’s expectations due to drilling delays.

Moreover, Soco said that a lower level of production is expected during Q3 due to the FPSO shutdown for H5 hook-up and maintenance carried out in July (gross TGT production for the month was 24.7 KBOEPD) and the gradual expected ramp-up of production from the H5 platform.

With the anticipated start-up of H5 before mid August, SOCO has revised its production guidance range for full year 2015 from 10.5-12 KBOEPD to 11-12 KBOEPD.

As for the financial results, in the first half of 205 Soco felt the impact of lower oil price and production, compared to the same period last year.